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[OM] Re: Commute home, good ideas, stupid execution

Subject: [OM] Re: Commute home, good ideas, stupid execution
From: Skip Williams <om2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 11:45:49 -0400
Shooting multiple images in multiple rows witha long-focus lenses is certainly 
possible and feasible using software such as PTAssembler or PTGui, both 
front-ends for Panorama Tools.  Max Lyons, among others, has achieved 
stupendous results with such techniques.  I tend to find that this multi-row 
process takes too much effort to shoot the many individual shots for casual 
images.  I prefer to work with 3-5 hand-shot or panorama-head-shot images and 
stitch them together unless it's a must-have image.

All these images in this gallery were shot handheld with the E-1 & 14-54.

http://skipwilliams.smugmug.com/gallery/109019/1/3872400
http://skipwilliams.smugmug.com/gallery/109019/1/3872404

What took so long for your process?  IME, I should be able to select 6-9 
control points per seam in 5-15 minutes.  Plus 15 minutes for the multiple-pass 
optimization process and stitching.  Total for stitching a pano of 3-5 images 
should be less than an hour without complications.  

The optimization process works best if you select 2-4 vertical sets of 3-4 
control points across each seam.  For good sets, I usually do two vertical sets 
of 3-4 points.  Without using a special pano head, ignore the immmediate 
foreground for control points, as you'll never be able to get them matched up.  
Also, use "morph-to-fit" for hard image pairs.  You should also consider 
getting Jim Watters new DLL version here: 
http://members.rogers.com/jimwatters/index.html.  I output layered photoshop 
files for ease of editing.

Email me offlist at skipwilliams@xxxxxxxxx if you want help.

Here's the Panorama Tools working group site too. 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PanoTools/

Skip


----- Original Message ---------------

Subject: [OM] Commute home, good ideas, stupid execution
   From: AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx>
   Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 07:38:49 -0700 (PDT)
     To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx

>Recently I read an article about stitching multiple digital
>images together to get a higher res, sharper, etc., image.  So
>yesterday, while on the way home from work, I decided to take
>back roads in my jeep and look for some killer farmland shot
>that is worthy of this experiment.
>
>Eventually, I venture down a couple gravel roads that I've never
>been on before and locate a nice scene.  It's a bit tougher than
>a couple weeks ago, since the corn is so tall now that the
>scenics have disappeared!  I shoot a few pictures to start with
>to make sure my exposures are good and then lock everything into
>manual mode.  I rack the zoom lens out to about 100mm where the
>lens has fewest abberations and start shooting in a grid pattern
>the scene.
>
>So far, so good.
>
>I get home, and copy the images into the computer (10 minutes to
>transfer all the RAW files since I left my card-reader at work).
> That's OK, I had to grill hamburgers anyway.  Then I batch
>convert the RAW files into TIFF files for the next step. 
>Meanwhile, I go outside and mow the lawn.
>
>I come in and batch convert the files into small JPEGS for
>experimenting.  Take a shower.
>
>Now comes the fun part.  Assembly.  I manage to get TWO frames
>almost stitched together while the tv is tuned to the Democratic
>Convention.  Wow, is this a RAM intensive process.  My computer
>is drawling right along with the speaker.  By the 27th "John and
>I" of the love-fest, I've managed to get the two frames finished
>and the third halfway done.  Never again will I do this with a
>handheld camera!
>


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